PCC president Niranjan Patnaik flayed the State Government for large scale vacancies of doctors and paramedical staff in Government hospitals and questioned on the efficacy of new health schemes and medical colleges when the problem of manpower crunch is acute.
In a Press statement, Patnaik criticised Health Minister Pratap Jena for giving false information on doctor vacancy in the State. Jena has disclosed in the Assembly recently that there are 1,609 doctors and 275 dentist posts lying vacant. However, Patnaik said the actual vacancy in doctor posts is 3,800.
The PCC chief said total approved number of cadre post of doctors in Odisha including Community Health Center (CHC), Primary Health Center (PHC), Sub-divisional Headquarters Hospitals and District Headquarter Hospitals is 6,719. There are only around 2,800 doctors working in the State and those MBBS who were posted through OPSC, many of them have gone for PG or remaining absent since long. However, the Government is calculating their number as working doctors.
Patnaik said as per World Health Organization (WHO) norms, there should be minimum 1 doctor for every 1,000 patients. While the ratio in the country is 1:11,082, in Odisha, it has worsened more.
Approximately 400 to 500 out patients are being attended in each District Headquarters Hospital per day. Likewise, 350 to 400 in each Sub divisional hospital, 200 to 250 in a CHC and 300 in a PHC. But even not a single doctor is there in many of the PHCs and CHCs, where either pharmacists or paramedical staffers are providing service. This is the real picture of healthcare system in the State, lamented Patnaik. On the other hand, it has created 3 cadres of doctors leading to dissatisfaction among them, he told.